


"Why is it so dark?"

by Bubbly_Kandy



Series: Why Do I Keep Hurting Wind? [4]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, LinkedUniverse - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: (shrug), Angst, Anguished Declarations of Love, Blindness, Brotherly Love, Fluff and Angst, Temporary Blindness, Warriors is also super emotional in this fic uhh, also yes! I know blind ppl dont touch faces when they talk to ppl, but Wind still gets hurt so, but like. For ur lil bro, but wind is an odd boy ok he would, its 2 am lol, legends not gonna be so sassy once he knows what I got in store for him, this became more of a Warriors angst fic tbh, this ones a big boy!, took me 3 hours to write!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-02 22:23:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21168836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubbly_Kandy/pseuds/Bubbly_Kandy
Summary: Warriors scrambled over to the two, taking Wind's face in his hands, looking closely at his eyes. The stunningly green irises were gone, replaced completely by black. Wind struggled in his hold, Warriors holding tighter onto him by default as his mind went blank.





	"Why is it so dark?"

Warriors didn't like admitting that he had a soft spot for anyone. Life had beat him down so hard, he was either an asshole or cold and harsh to everyone he met.

Except for that _fucking kid._ The first time they had met, Wind had looked up at him with his big green eyes and toothy smile. He chirped an energetic "Hi!", and made Warriors a big softie for a kid he barely knew. It was ridiculous. 

How could he just  _ do  _ that? When Warriors was his age, he was just as cute, but most adults just cooed at how adorable his face was then moved on. Wind, however, stole the hearts of every person in the group, and held them all in his grubby little hands. 

Which was why, when they were wandering around Warriors’ Hyrule, he was keeping an extra close eye on the kid. Wind was jumping around excitedly, poking his nose in places it didn’t really belong in and taking pictographs of everything, accompanied by Wild. 

The group was in high spirits, everyone joking around and laughing. Legend’s jokes weren’t obnoxious, Twilight was smiling, and even Time was joining in on the high mood, telling Warriors and Twi about the alcoholic milk drink his wife sold that actually tasted decent. 

It was…  _ nice.  _ Warriors was actually having fun, both poking a little tease at everyone with Legend and making Time defend his wifes’ milk cocktail with Twilight. It was the first time in a while his mind wasn’t bogged down with stress or exhaustion. 

That, however, changed as soon as Wind saw a bunny dart behind a bush. He followed it eagerly, disappearing behind the leaves while cooing to the rabbit that it was okay to show itself. 

Warriors smelt a sickly sweet scent, and then Wind was screaming. Noxious purple dust began to leak from the bush, Warriors feeling his stomach drop as the screaming intensified. He shoved past Twilight, shouting at everyone to stay away from the bush. He pulled his scarf above his nose, taking a deep breath before squeezing his eyes shut and entering the purple dust. The shrill screaming continued- Warriors followed it.

His hand reached out, groping for Wind blindly as the dust began to sting his exposed skin. He didn’t want to open his eyes- he had heard stories of  _ that  _ happening. He followed the screaming to the ground, finally grasping the back of Wind’s shirt from where he was crumpled on the ground, his cries muffled by something. 

Warriors pulled him to safety, probably stretching the neckline of the boy’s shirt beyond repair. Once he knew it was safe, he dropped his scarf and opened his eyes, taking in a huge gulp of air once letting go of the old air. He barely took a moment of rest, though- he began shouting orders for water and blankets as he began to shake Wind, knocking the purple dust off his clothes and body. He was  _ focused-  _ he heard nothing but Wind’s screams, and saw nothing but his curled up form. The purple dust was sticking to his hair- Warriors dumping the water given to him by Four over the boys head and cleaning it away. 

“What the fuck?” Legend was shouting, Warriors’ brain processing that bit of outside information.

Wind’s screams soon lowered into whimpers, his hands still stuck onto his face. Warriors tried to gently peel them away, the whimpers increasing into shrieks whenever he tried.

“Give me blankets,” He commanded, blankets piling onto the youngest Hero quickly. “Okay,” he sighed once he determined there to be enough, his posture sagging as he put his head in his hands. “That’s enough.”

“The  _ hell  _ was that?!” Legend raged, Warriors staring at Wind’s small, shaking body through a small break between his fingers. “Why didn’t you  _ tell-”  _

“I did,” Warriors interjected, too tired to argue with Legend. “I told you all to  _ not  _ go towards purple smoke-”

“How the hell was  _ he  _ supposed to know?” Legend yelled, gesturing towards Wind. Before Warriors could answer, Sky jumped in to lead Legend away, probably to calm him down. Warriors could really give less of a shit. 

\---

The group decided to make camp at the outskirts of the woods, far away from the dust but close enough so that Warriors, who was carrying Wind, wouldn’t get tired and drop him. Warriors stayed close to the young boy the entire rest of the night, ignoring everyone telling him it wasn’t his fault, that it could have happened to anyone, and that it was apparently  _ fine  _ that his Hyrule was the only damn one to have poisonous purple dust that has  _ killed  _ full grown adults twice as big as Wind!

The only change Wind had made the entire night was his hands falling off his face in sleep, Warriors noting that his face, it looked, had taken no damage. 

Warriors didn't pray- he wasn't a religious guy like Hyrule or Sky, but he did send a few  _ thank you's _ to the goddesses. 

Sky had taken his spot as Wind's personal pillow, while Wolfie made a surprise appearance and become Wind's big, fluffy blanket and cuddle buddy. Warriors sat a little further away, close enough to see everything but far enough so that Sky's whispers to Wolfie were unheard. 

\---

"... Sky?" 

Warriors shot awake from his light, disturbed sleep at the sound of the young boy's voice. Wind repeated himself again, Sky slumped over and snoring lightly. Wind's hands raised, patting Sky's face until he awoke, blearily looking down at the boy before realizing what was happening. 

"Wind!" He gasped, Wolfie waking up with an inquisitive whine. His tail began to wag, and Warriors moved slightly closer, just enough to hear better. "How are you feeling?" Sky asked, playing with Wind's hair. Strangely, Winds' hands didn't leave Sky's face.

"What time is it?" Wind asked, Warriors opening his mouth to speak before clicking it shut.

"Just about 8 in the morning, hon," Sky answered. "Why?"

"Are we in a cave?" 

"No, silly," Sky teased him, poking his cheeks lightly. "We're outside." 

"... then, why is is dark?" 

Warriors felt a metaphorical knife stab through him, air being punched out of his lungs. Sky's face slowly dropped from sweet and serene to horrified as realization hit him, and Wolfie's tail stopped wagging.

It was a bright, sunny day.

"Sky?" Wind asked, obviously confused. "Sky, why is it dark?"

Wolfie let out a distressed cry, alerting the others before he stood and bounded away into the forest. Sky looked over at Warriors, his eyes huge and his jaw lax. 

"Why is it  _ dark?"  _ Wind asked again, his question becoming louder as he became frustrated. "Sky! Why is it-" 

Warriors scrambled over to the two, taking Wind's face in his hands, looking closely at his eyes. The stunningly green irises were gone, replaced completely by black. Wind struggled in his hold, Warriors holding tighter onto him by default as his mind went blank.

"Who's holding me?!" Wind yelled, the others getting an idea of what was going on. Legend cursed loudly, stalking away in the same direction Wolfie went. Sky's hands were covering his mouth and nose, his head shaking slowly. " _ Who are you?"  _

"It's Warriors," Warriors wheezed quietly, letting go of Wind's face. Wind sat up, his hands patting all over Warriors and the blankets. "Wind, I-" 

"Why is it  _ dark?"  _ Wind cried, his breathing growing shaky and ragged. "Why is it so dark outside?" 

"Sweet Hylia," Sky whispered, Time kneeling beside Wind. He tried to put a comforting hand on his back- however, Wind lurched away, his voice being more high pitched and hysterical.

"Why can't I see? Why can't I  _ see  _ anything?" Wind began to full on panic, Warriors wanting to panic with him. "Why is it so  _ dark?!"  _

-

Wind had gone blind. Due to Warriors' own negligence and ignorance, Wind now was blind, and couldn't even see the brightest light. 

They had wrapped Four's headband around his eyes; Wind had kept on rubbing them until they were almost raw, trying to regain his vision. 

Twilight was now the one to be Wind's personal pillow, as Sky was so distraught by the revelation he went and 'cleared his head' by the edge of the forest. 

(He went to go cry.) 

The mood of the group was somber, no one knowing what to do. Heart potions hadn't worked- the three they shoved down Wind's throat proved that. Hyrule used every spell he could, but nothing worked. It was disturbing to see Wind, who was usually so energetic and excitable, sit still beside Twilight. His ears were droopy, and his shoulders were slumped with his head hanging down. 

Wild was obviously suffering, too- he usually communicated to everyone through sign, being the only Hero who actually preferred using his hands to speak. Not only that, Wind had become his cooking partner. Now, Wild had to speak verbally (something that obviously took a lot of energy out of him) or sign to Twilight, then have it translated so Wind could respond. Twilight, not to mention, wasn't fluent in the sign that Wild and Wind happened to actually have in common- he stuttered and stammered through his translation, and a quick, seven word sentence became a five minute ordeal.

Warriors had been sitting, hidden, on the other side of the tent since Sky went to go cry, his head pressed against his knees. Guilt and anger ate away at his insides, a sour taste filling his mouth even as the smell of Wild's cooking was in his nose. His stomach rolled, and his heart felt like it was burning as the image of Wind's broken eyes haunted him. 

It was his fault. He had injured one of his friends- no. He had hurt his  _ brother.  _ His little, now  _ blind _ brother. How could he be so ignorant? So  _ stupid?  _ It was his duty to protect everyone in his Hyrule, and he had failed. Now, someone paid the price.

His eyes burned. 

-

Warriors didn't talk for the entire day, even as the rest of the group packed up camp. He numbly went through the actions of picking up, his focus more on the dirty glares Legend was shooting his way. He could feel them burning through his armour, stinging his skin like the purple dust. 

Wind sat in the middle of all the commotion, his ears alert and twitching. It was actually interesting to watch- Wind had the ability to swivel his ears in two different directions, like a cat. Wild could do the same. The light green fabric obscuring his eyes, however, very much ruined all interest Warriors had in watching.

The group was soon packed up, and everyone prepared to go. Time asked Warriors where they should head to, the tone of the older mans voice making him want to cry. It was polite, but nothing like how Time spoke to him before- even though Time lied to Warriors and said it was none of his fault, he still obviously was upset at him. Warriors just felt so  _ guilty-  _ which was why when Sky asked the group who would be willing to carry Wind, Warriors was the first to say 'I.' 

"Sure you won't  _ hurt  _ him again?" Legend snarked quietly, Twilight cuffing him and giving him a Look. That persuaded Warriors to stand his ground, telling Sly that he would carry Wind on his back. 

As Sky led him along towards Warriors, Wind's little hands fluttered all around him; trying to not bump into anything. His hand soon bumped into Warriors's chest armour, the hand travelling up until Wind grasped his scarf. 

The boy smiled.

Warriors desperately wanted to believe it was genuine. 

-

The walk was long and hard, even more so with a small but compact teen on Warriors back. Twi offered to carry Wind many times, but Warriors always refused. He had to apologize to Wind  _ somehow.  _ Hopefully, Wind could see- 

Oh, gods no. Backtrack, backtrack!

-Hopefully, Wind could  _ understand  _ what Warriors was trying to tell him. An apology.

They soon reached a stop for the night, Wind letting go of Warriors quickly and dropping to the ground after Warriors let him go. Warriors tried to convince himself that it  _ wasn't _ Wind viscerally hating him, but it was hard to do. 

Warriors stayed quiet, going through the motions of unpacking as he watched Wind.

Wind was gaining an… odd way of talking to people. He started putting his hands on people's faces, probably trying to make sure that they wouldn't leave in the middle of him talking. He mostly went up on his toes to do so, but Time and Twi bent down to his level for him. He had done it to everyone, but one person- guess who?

Ding ding ding! Warriors.

-

A week passed in around the same way. Warriors would carry Wind on his back during travel, and while Wind never complained, he never thanked Warriors, either. Legend still hadn't let up with his nasty looks and gossip, but Warriors had heard some people defend him from Legend, which was… nice. It was good to see no one else wanted to kill him as much. 

Sky and Twi were more friendly to him, too. Sky and him had a good heart to heart one night, after Warriors heard Legend say something particularly bad and was obviously trying to keep it together. Sky had encouraged him to  _ talk  _ to Wind about the whole thing, because Wind, while  _ incredibly _ upset about his condition, was actually being more mature than Legend in realizing that Warriors really couldn't help him more than he did. 

Warriors had cried, he'll admit it. The rumours were true- Sky was really good with comforting people. 

Twilight, on the other hand, wasn't so much comforting Warriors as he was defending him from Legend. Normally, Warriors could hold his own against Legend, easily. However, in the emotional state he was in at the moment, Legend could knock him over and Warriors would want to cry. Twilight would stare Legend down if he saw him sending Warriors dirty looks, and was oftentimes the one to shut down Legend when he would be talking smack about Warriors to Hyrule, Four, or Time. 

-

This night, Warriors was finally starting to feel better. Sure, he hadn't yet talked to Wind, but the youngest Hero had been smiling at him all day, even perking up when Sky would tell him that Warriors was around. That had given Warriors the emotional stability to finally talk back to Legend, taking him down in a swordfight they had decided on. 

He was in the tent, mindlessly doodling as he waited for Wild to finish making supper. He barely heard any noise outside, but then Wind appeared next to him, waving his hand in front of Warriors' face.

Warriors gulped.

"What's up, kid?" He asked.

"Are you facing me?" Wind responded, Warriors turning his face towards the younger boy. 

"Now I am." 

Wind put his hands on Warriors' face. 

"I know I'll hear you if you try and leave, but I'm making sure you  _ really _ can't leave me," Wind grinned. "Wahaha!" 

"You got me," Warriors replied, Wind's smile just as infectious as it always was, even with Fours headband covering his eyes. "What do you want to talk about?" 

"Well," Wind started, clicking his teeth. "I don't like it when you ignore me." He squished Warriors' cheeks a little at that. Warriors felt his belly twinge, and he winced.

"... I'm sorry." 

"No! No apologizing!" Wind said, shaking his head. "I've had enough of that already!" 

"But I never truly said it," Warriors said, confused. "All I d-" 

"You've been apologizing all  _ week,"  _ Wind interrupted, sounding a little exasperated. "I know. I'm  _ perspective,  _ you know. I pay attention." Wind shifted up on his knees, getting closer to Warriors' face. "You giving me more food, you carrying me everywhere- your scarf smells like sweat, you know," he said, his nose crinkling. "It's nasty." 

"Sorry." 

"No more apologizing!" Wind cried, bouncing up and down a little. "Repeat after me: no apologizing." He squished Warriors' cheeks again, his eyebrows raising.

"No apologizing." Warriors bit back an apology. Wind, satisfied, continued.

"I just wanna say that you did  _ good,"  _ he said. "I was the stupid idiot who stuck my face in the purple-smoke-dust-plant-thing. I saw the bunny, and I chased after it, even though you told us to not do that. That was  _ my  _ fault." 

Warriors felt himself start to lean into Wind's left hand as he continued, his eyes starting to burn.

"I don't really remember what happened, but Twi clued me in," Wind continued. "You jumped in right away, like it was nothin'! You were a total  _ badass  _ during it! Don't you get how cool that was? Sky said that everyone else was scared, but you took total control and gave everyone jobs to keep busy!"

"Kid, that's my job," Warriors tried to explain, his voice cracking. "I-" 

"Shh!" Wind said quickly, squishing Warriors cheeks together  _ again  _ so that he couldn't talk. Once he was silenced, Wind suddenly got more serious. "You saved my  _ life.  _ I probably would've  _ died _ if you weren't there." 

That caused the waterworks.

"Shit, kid," Warriors began to sob, tears falling freely from his eyes. "Don't  _ say  _ that- it-" 

Wind slid his hands from Warriors cheeks to his shoulders, Warriors pulling him in for a hug. Wind made a surprised sound, but didn't struggle- he patted Warriors' back, hugging him back almost as tightly. 

"Kid, I actually fuckin' love you," Warriors wept, feeling all kinds of emotional and soft and shit. "You're like my little  _ brother,  _ and if you would've d-died, I-" 

"I know," Wind replied, his voice getting a little creaky as well. " _ You're _ like my big brother." 

The two hugged for a while longer, neither wanting to let go. Warriors cried until he felt like a drought, Wind patting his back and petting his hair in a very Sky-like gesture. Finally, the two released each other. Wind stayed in Warriors' lap, cuddled nicely under his chin. 

"... did you rehearse that with Sky beforehand?" Warriors finally asked. 

A giggle was his only reply.

**Author's Note:**

> WIND GETS HIS SIGHT BACK A WEEK LATER OK ITS GOOD ITS GUCCI ITS FINE
> 
> this one was a STRUGGLE. I first had it as a more comedic side of Wind getting injured, but then I got this idea and scrapped the other. The first three paragraphs are the same, tho! 
> 
> @ Don: I loved your idea on my last fic! I swear I'll get to that soon- I want to try and write it like Aryll, and trying to write like you're a 7 year old girl when you're a 16 year old boy is hard lmao
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Please leave a kudos or comment if you enjoyed, and feel free to give me a suggestion for a future fix for this series!
> 
> Thank you!!


End file.
